Eastern Shore Healthy Communities (ESHC)

Eastern Shore Healthy Communities (ESHC) works to create healthier communities on the Eastern Shore. It convenes partner organizations and individuals to track health indicators, offer information about what produces health, seek diverse citizen input about creating a healthier community and plan and implement policy, systems and environmental change strategies that focus on leading health issues. ESHC's approach to community health focuses on policy, systems and environmental change because it has a broader impact and is more sustainable than programmatic approaches. For example, tobacco-free work place policies reduce tobacco use and second-hand smoke inhalation for everyone in the workplace. Adoption of recommended physical activity guidelines within school systems impacts students, teachers and parents. Environmental changes, like building bike paths and sidewalks, promote active living and benefit the entire community. And by working with dozens of local government organizations, community members, businesses and schools, ESHC truly takes a community approach to improving health in the Eastern Shore.
ESHC accomplishes these goals and others via a number of key initiatives: BMI Data Collection, Community-Academic Partnership, Fitness Challenge, Healthy Options Restaurants, Leadership Institute, Livable Communities, School Audits, Smart Bites, Walking Trails and Wellness Policies. These initiatives include creating a BMI data collection protocol in Northampton and Accomack County Public School Districts; conducting NIH-funded research as part of a Community-Academic Partnership to identify community-sourced ideas for community initiatives; enrolling 1,000 individuals in ACTIVATE Eastern Shore to make healthy eating and fitness choices; branding nutritious and calorie-wise restaurants in order to promote healthy food options in the community; designing an Eastern Shore Leadership Academy with the CDC and National Leadership Academy; championing county and town policy changes; helping students research and change unhealthy food marketing practices in local schools; promoting student civic engagement to lobby local restaurants to serve healthier menu items; developing local walking trails on existing pathways and sidewalks; and working to promote healthier smoking, vending machine and fitness policies with local organizations. More information about these projects can be learned by visiting ESCH's webpage below or utilizing the contact information listed below.

Grant(s)

Virginia Department of Health, Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth, Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth, Children's Hospital of the Kings Daughters and EVMS Department of Pediatrics, VDH, Institute of Medicine, National Institutes of Child Health and Development